Cribmakers: Ban drop-side cribs

Back more than 10 years ago when my husband and I first went shopping for a crib, we did all kinds of research on finding the right one for our bundle of joy. We checked recall lists and made sure it was safe for him but we also wanted to make sure that it was easy to use. So we settled on a crib with a drop side so that we could easily reach in and get him when he woke up. And we used that same crib for our second son who came about 3 1/2 years later.

But those cribs will be a thing of the past if a proposed ban on drop-side cribs is approved. Cribmakers are proposing the ban because of infant deaths and injuries and several recent recalls. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that at least three infants have died in the last 18 months in drop-side cribs. The agency, which also says that there have been more tha three-million cribs recalled, has received more than 200 complaints, with more than a third of them concerning drop sides that cam loose from their tracks.

Members of the committee that sets industry standads want production on the drop-side cribs to end and for all cribs to then have four stationary sides. The proposal has not been finalized yet.

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